The *BEST* (Tom Barr's) low-tech start-up tank method. Easy to read beginner's guide!

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Viper

According to the article on the first page here, is the author saying that if you intend to use Seachem Flourish, that you should also be using Calcium and Magnesium ferts as well? Are dry ferts OK to use in conjunction with the liquid fert that is Flourish?

Flourish Comprehensive is a trace element mix. You can use any other form of aquatic plant fertilizer with it. You can dose the chemicals, KNO3, KH2PO4, and maybe K2SO4 to provide the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous that all plants need. Or, you can dose one of the liquid fertilizers, like Seachem Nitrogen, plus Seachem Potassium, plus Seachem Phosphorous. There are a couple of sponsors here who also sell good liquid fertilizers.

[Cinbos]

I have been dosing dry ferts for about a month and half now. But I have also started dosing flourish, and equilibrium (water is soft in my area).

[Viper]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

Flourish Comprehensive is a trace element mix. You can use any other form of aquatic plant fertilizer with it. You can dose the chemicals, KNO3, KH2PO4, and maybe K2SO4 to provide the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous that all plants need. Or, you can dose one of the liquid fertilizers, like Seachem Nitrogen, plus Seachem Potassium, plus Seachem Phosphorous. There are a couple of sponsors here who also sell good liquid fertilizers.

Thanks. I'd probably like to try to stay away from the liquid ferts as they seem to be more expensive than the dry ferts. Except for the Flourish of course.

[Yiannis]

Is it good though not to do any water changes at all?

[Cinbos]

I was kind of wondfering the same thing. I like to think I am not dosing a whole lot, but who knows. I will still proceed with water changes on sundays, and if I see anything going downhill I wil change up my routine. Trial and error.

[PeterN1986]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

This will be low light, with Excel, and possibly with DIY CO2 if I run into too sluggish plant growth. My light is a DIY LED light that I adjust the LED driver to get whatever PAR I want, within a narrow band - about 15-30 micromols of PAR. It is set for 20 right now. The substrate will be ADA Aquasoil, mostly Africana, with some Amazonia mixed in. And, the filter will be a Hamburger Mattenfilter.

Hey Hoppy, how is this tank coming along? I am dry-starting HC and glosso in my 5.5g tank and plan on keeping it non-CO2, dosing Excel and Flourish and dry ferts. I've got a 16" Fugeray, which should be low-ish light. Substrate is MGOPS capped with eco. I'm hoping I can get away with just dosing Excel and dry ferts without having the HC go bad after I flood.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by PeterN1986

Hey Hoppy, how is this tank coming along? I am dry-starting HC and glosso in my 5.5g tank and plan on keeping it non-CO2, dosing Excel and Flourish and dry ferts. I've got a 16" Fugeray, which should be low-ish light. Substrate is MGOPS capped with eco. I'm hoping I can get away with just dosing Excel and dry ferts without having the HC go bad after I flood.

My tank is on its 10-11th day with water in it, and only a few of the plants. I'm still waiting out the ammonia leaching period for Aquasoil, and waiting for the remaning plants to arrive - this week sometime. It will be at least another 3 weeks before I can add any fish. The Aqusoil is working much, much better than when I used soil with blasting grit on top - clear water in two days vs two months, for example.

[ponyo]

I'm wondering if someone can help me with ferts. Here's my tanks specs:

-low tech/non CO2
-29 gal, 12" wide, 30" long and 18" high IIRC
-eco complete substrate
-HOB filter
-2x T5NO 18watt 6,700K bulbs (corralife)
-hard water from a well but I don't think it's from calcium because I live in the granite state and there's no lime stone around here. But I do live on an old farm with 18" of farm loam. I think it's magnesium that is making it hard--that's what my mom seems to remember was in the tests way back when
-pH 7.6, no ammonia or nitrites 5ppm nitrates
-I feed every other day
-3 madagascar rainbows, 1 small dwarf gourami, 3 japonica shrimp
-lots of anubias nana and some petite, M. minuta (not doing so well), pennywort, something like coralina bacopa, a tiny bit of dwarf sag still holding on although probably dying, and lots of algae which I think is a brownish-green on the glass
-I do a weekly small water change even though I know you're not supposed to but I just think if I don't do it regularly and I only do a big water change very rarely my fish will kick the bucket as they have in the past when I've skipped a few weeks of water changes out of sheer laziness.

To make my life easier (I am ok at math but not so much at stupid american measuring systems....) I think I'll just go with the given measurements for a 20gal. Is that ok?

Once a week:

1/8 tsp KNO3
1/32 tsp KH2PO4
4ml of 1 tbs/250 ml solution of CSM+B

I don't want to dose anything that has calcium or magnesium in it. What does CSM+B stand for and what is in it? And how do you guys handle such tiny measurements? Do you make a solution and then dose from there? Or maybe I should just weigh it and then go by weight?